Bill OK'd To Offer Immunity For Reporting Drug Overdose
LANSING, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - People under age 21 could avoid criminal charges when reporting a prescription drug overdose in Michigan under legislation that has won final approval.
The bill exempts people age 20 and younger from prosecution for illegally using painkillers and other prescription drugs if a health emergency is reported to authorities. Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to sign the measure.
Rep. Al Pscholka introduced the legislation after a teen died when party goers reportedly didn't get him help because they feared getting in trouble. Some feel the criminal immunity should apply to all ages and heroin and cocaine overdoses.
Michigan already has a "Good Samaritan" exemption for minors assisting someone in danger from alcohol intoxication.
Meantime, with the incidence of heroin deaths on the rise — doubling over the past two years alone — the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is out with a new warning, and it's not just teenagers.
The largest increase in overdose deaths are among people 45 to 54 years old.
"People are self-medicating," said Dr. Michael Feld, an emergency medicine specialist at Henry Ford Hospital in West Bloomfield, which hosted a forum on the heroin epidemic.
"And what starts out abusing prescription medications, which is a very expensive habit, individuals turn to heroin because it's much cheaper to acquire," said Feld, "and I presume that people are buying it off the street illegally."
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